Janet Iwasa
University of Utah, UT·Biochemistry
Proteins and the large molecular complexes they form are constantly moving inside cells, and those motions are often essential to how they work. Structural and computational biology now reveal the many shapes these molecules can take.
- Fields
Biochemistry
Biophysics
Computer Science
- Topics
molecular visualization
molecular animation
3D animation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2029
What they work on
- Develop open-source tools that let molecular biologists define a series of molecular states, such as conformation changes or binding of partner molecules, for a complex or single molecule.
- Build tools to define trajectories through these states to create animated 3D models of molecular dynamics, without requiring extensive 3D animation training.
- Test and validate the tools through case studies of molecular systems with relatively well-defined structural and dynamic states.
- Create standards and methods for sharing, annotating and archiving dynamic molecular models so they are accessible, reusable and transparent.
More about the research
Yet researchers lack easy ways to turn that knowledge into dynamic models. 3D animation can combine spatial and motion data from many kinds of experiments, and the group has used it to visualize complex molecular processes and gain scientific insight. But animation software takes extensive training, so few biologists use it.
Why it matters
Easy-to-use animation tools could let molecular biologists turn structural data into clear, shareable models of how molecules move, aiding understanding of processes essential for life. Standards for annotating and archiving these models could make them reusable and transparent for the wider research community.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Vukica Srajer
University of Chicago, IL·Biophysics
Install and test new hardware to generalize Electric-Field Stimulated X-ray crystallography, in which strong external electric fields induce motions in protein crystals that are then recorded by X-ray diffraction at atomic resolution.
Christopher Bryan
Arizona State University Campus Immersion, AZ·Computer Science
Develop a visualization grammar, a way to specify chart designs without low-level programming, that supports privacy constraints and data sanitization actions.
John Franck
Syracuse University, NY·Chemistry·Early-career
Build instrumentation and open-source analysis software that turn liquid-state Overhauser Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (ODNP) into a routine method for characterizing hydration water around macromolecules.
The school
University of Utah: 58 labs on PI Pages, $789M a year on research, 366 research doctorates a year.
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